Common experiences associated with hypnogogia include fear, shortness of breath, sleep paralysis, a sensation of not being alone, falling sensations, and even visual and auditory sensations.
I do not claim to be an expert in the area of hypnogogia, but I experienced the phenomenon from my childhood through my late teens before I understood what it was. The experiences ranged from mild to terrifying, and though not what I considered “frequent” in occurrence, they were certainly not rare.
My own experiences with hypnogogia included sleep paralysis as well as audio and visual hallucinations. Quite frequently, I would wake, unable to move, and hearing whispers in the room. The whispers would grow louder and louder until eventually there were screams…multiple voices shouting incomprehensible words as I tried as hard as I could to get out of bed, unable to move.
And then, it would end with an absolutely bizarre abruptness. The more unsettling thing about hypnogogia is that often, outside stimulation can bleed over to the conscious world, this adds to the realism of the sensation (and I assure you, if you’ve never experienced it, the sensation is vividly realistic). In fact on several occasions, I’d hear my mother talking on the phone, or seeing my father off to work blended in with the other auditory sensations. Being the inquisitive lad that I was, I questioned my mother about whether or not she was actually carrying on conversations during that morning, and when I got an affirmative answer, I was left wondering if I was actually experiencing something paranormal, or if I was just going crazy.
It wasn’t until my late teens that the experiences became truly disturbing. At that time, the sensations were the same, except that the auditory sensations would begin with my eyes closed, and part of the sleep paralysis stopped me from opening them. The auditory sensations would end with the same abruptness, but now, still unable to move the rest of my body, I would see a dark figure standing right next to my bed. As soon as I could move, it would vanish.
There are still studies being conducted as to the cause of these phenomena, with some experts asserting that insomnia or excessive daytime weariness can bring on hypnogogia. Personally, I find that the severity of my experiences directly correlated with the irregularity of my sleep pattern. In other words, the more erratic my sleep became, the higher the intensity of my hypnogogia.
We are still researching the prevalence of this psychiatric phenomenon, but a 1996 study from The British Journal of Psychiatry reports that the experiences can be as high as 37% of people experiencing hypnogogic hallucinations (while falling asleep), and 12.5% of people experiencing hypnopompic hallucinations (while waking up).
Paranormal investigators have to keep these phenomena in mind when interviewing clients, and provide education and information about the experiences. There are various sources of information on the web. Wikipedia, while not always the most reliable source of information, does provide information for some useful information and sources. WebMD has several articles on the subject, as both phenomena can be associated with narcolepsy. Even a simple Google search can turn up loads of information.
It’s never a wise thing to seem as if you’re discounting an individual’s personal experience, so be careful about how you bring this one up…but definitely bring it up if the patterns fit.
As always, be safe in your investigations.
Matthew Vickers
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